To Offence - Or Defence

[elrune1988 12]

A Tale of Two Skill-Sets



Since being integrated into the draft ranking system on the 1^st of August – eleven days ago – Mississauga Hound Liam Rooney has seen his draft stock rising. The young Center has risen 16 spots in the rankings in just under two weeks – which will bode well for any team looking to take a dedicated Center.

“I just go out there and control what I can control.” Said Rooney after practice this afternoon, “I think it is a little bit frivolous to look at the rankings and try to will where I land. There is no point.”

With 8 goals and 20 assists in 34 games on the season thus far – what is most impressive has been Rooney’s ability to play sound defence and keep the opposition in check during his minutes. In the 34 games that Rooney has played for the Hounds thus far this season – he rated as a minus 9. To give these numbers context – we look at Rooney’s teammate and friend. Ballentine Kidd has been enigmatic as a scorer in his first season in the VHLM. Currently sitting second in points – with a minus 27 rating.

The two skaters are 6 points apart.

So what is more important when analyzing talent – do the 6 extra points make-up for the 18 extra minuses? Does it matter? Do VHL GMs look at VHLM stats when selecting draftees or is it about more?

Needless to say – the Mississauga Hounds have a talented pair of Centers who draw comparisons to one another due to the time they have spent in the league and the abilities they hold. Let us see where they get drafted!